Never In My Wildest Dreams
by MJLover888
Summary: Edward is the school player. Bella just moved to Forks. She's hot, rich, coordinated, and outgoing. Bella knows Edward's type, and ends up hating him. Will an accident bring them closer together? A/J; E/R; ?B/E? AH DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT STEPHENIE MEYER!
1. Prologue

**BPOV**

Ugh. I'm moving to Forks. A small, cramped, rainy town. I'm staying at Charlie's. A small, cramped, messy house. I'm used to Phoenix. A hot, dry, big city. I loved my mom's place. A big, fancy, expensive mansion. This kind of small-town, small-house life isn't exactly my kind of thing. But my mom wanted time with Phil, so I put on a brave face and moved in with Charlie. My mom saw through me a bit, and knew how hard this was for me, so she promised me that my credit cards would still work until I was 21. 21 is sorta the get-a-job-and-your-own-income stage in my family. Phil is a major-league baseball player, and is used in a lot of the team's publicity, so they have a few extra million dollars laying around, and they don't use it all, so they let me use it too. Money's no object for us.

But of course that doesn't mean I get to be a spoiled brat about it. I grew up in a small house to begin with, and learned my manners before Phil came into our lives, and was introduced to the wonderful world of money and fashion. Many rich people think they're above everyone else, but not me. I'm a real person, not some fake bimbo who uses others. I don't mean to sound cocky, but I'm a good girl. Which is why I didn't complain about moving in with Charlie. **(A/N: Look, she sounds really self-centered here, but I had to add that in to describe how down to earth she is for someone who's so rich.)**

Honestly, it wasn't really THAT bad. Things could be worse. I hadn't spent much time with Charlie before, and although he wasn't the most interesting person out there, it would be good to be with him a bit. The only things that really were thorns in my side about Forks were Derek and Tipper.

Derek is my brother. He's three years older than me, but it doesn't really matter to us. He's my best friend, and we spent tons of time together in Phoenix. He bought me my car, he bought me a star (yes, a star in the sky!), and then last year he bought be an acre on Mars. He says it's for if the world explodes. Derek was the person I would miss the most. I haven't spent this much time away from him, and it's not gonna be fun. I was also really going miss Tipper. Tipper is my little pomeranian. I'm extremely attached to the little guy, he's a year and a half, and in that time, I trained him all these cool tricks. He's a therapy dog, and participates in doggy dancing. **(A/N: Yes, doggy dancing is real!!!) **Much to my dismay, I couldn't bring him, because there would be too much change, and not enough time for me to care for him.


	2. Forks

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Ok, well this is the official Chapter 1. Lemme know whatcha think!

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BPOV

Well, I made it to Forks. I walked into Charlie's small house, and went up to my room. There was absolutely not enough room for all my clothes here. I sighed, and started squishing. Charlie was working late tonight on an important police case, so I decided to go the local cafe, where many teens hang out. Of course, it was late Saturday night, so most teens were out partying...but I figured that some time alone might be nice. I got on my sweats, Converses, and sweater and then made my way outside and into my bright, canary yellow Porsche. It stood out, but I didn't care. I loved my car.

I parked in the cafe parking lot, and saw only three cars there. I walked inside. The cafe was actually really cool, despite it's location in Forks. You walk in the door, and to the right there's a counter, some tables in the middle, and booths to the left. But if you walk to the back, they have some park benches and lots of flowers, to make it have a garden-y feel.

I walked up the counter where a pixie-like girl with short black hair was working.

"Hi, can I have a coffee?" I asked. She looked at me curiously.

"Sure. Hey, you're Isabella Swan, right?" WHY DO ALL THESE PEOPLE KNOW ME?! I like people, but I don't like being stalked!

"Call me Bella. And you are?"

"Oh, sorry, I'm Alice. Alice Cullen. Look, I get off in five minutes, can I get you a coffee then, and we can sit and chat for a bit?" She asked hopefully. It would be nice to know someone, so I agreed, and then sat down at a booth.

Five minutes later, Alice danced over with two coffees and sat down.

"So, you moved here with Chief Swan, correct?"

"Yup."

"How are you liking it here in Forks?"

"Well, it rains everyday, there's no sun, and Charlie's a REEEAL bag o' fun to be with. I love it here." I said sarcasticly. She laughed.

"Hey, you'll get used to it!" She said. I laughed too.

"So, do you have any siblings?" I asked.

"Yes. I have a brother named Emmett, and another named Edward. Then I have a friend named Rosalie who is dating Emmett, and I'm dating her twin brother, Jasper. You're gonna meet them on Monday." She said, and sounded as if she was really excited about it.

"So Edward's alone? Is he like the dork of the family or something?" I asked, laughing. There was always one! Alice started cracking up.

"What?" I asked.

"Edward is far from the dork of the family! He's the school's biggest player. He has a new girlfriend every week."

"Ah. I know his type. They had a ton of them in Phoenix. I hate players."

"Well, you'll hate Edward then!" She said. I laughed.

"Tell me about yourself." I said.

"Well, I love fashion and clothes. Shopping is my passion. I like hanging out with Rosalie, dressing other fashion challenged people, and and hanging out with Jasper. What about you?"

"Hmmm, I like fashion and clothes too. I shop sometimes, but not obsessively. I like being around people, but there's times when I just need to be alone. And I LOVE CHOCOLATE!" I said.

"Tell me about your family." Alice said.

"Chief Swan, well, I call him Charlie, is my dad. I'm staying with him now. He's not the coolest guy in town, but he's nice to me, and that's all that really matters, I suppose. My mom, Renee, I'm really close to. She's fun, dare-devilish, and a really horrible cook. She married Phil, my step-dad. He plays major-league baseball, so that was cool for me since when we moved in with him our house was really big, and that's how I got into fashion. I have an older brother named Derek. He's 20 now, and I'm EXTREMELY close to him. I really miss him. I also have a dog named Tipper. He's a year and a half old pomeranian, and I absolutely adore him!"

"Who are your friends?"

"Hmmm...well I have one best friend, two really close friends, some normal friends, and many, many acquaintances. My best friend, Rachel, and I have sort of grown apart over the years though. I guess I'm sorta looking for a new best friend." I said. As soon as I said that Alice got a huge smile on her face.

"Well congratulations," she said, "I will be your new best friend!" I smiled.

"Works for me!"

"YAY! I've never had a REAL best friend...I mean Rosalie and I are close, but she can be really distant sometimes...I can tell that you and I will be like sisters!" She said.

"What makes you say that, Alice?" I asked. She sounded like a psychic or something.

"Usually when I see people, I just get a feel for how we'll get along. We sound alot alike, so we'll get along great, I'm sure...if you can get around the jerk that is my brother Edward...well, he doesn't really live with us so..." She frowned.

"I'm sure I'll be able to deal with him." I said, and smiled, but I was wondering where Edward could possibly live if he doesn't live with his family. She got up and gave me a hug. I hugged her back and looked at the time on my phone.

"I have to go Alice. I'll see you soon though, right?" I asked hopefully.

"Of course! What are you doing tomorrow?" She asked. I frowned.

"Unpacking. Ugh."

"Well I'll be over to help. What time works for you?" She asked.

"You really don't have to Alice, but how about 10:30? We can unpack, then get something to eat." I suggested. Her smile got bigger.

"I'll see you then, Bella!" She said, before she skipped off to her car.

I spent the rest of the weekend, which really was only Sunday, with Alice. She helped me unpack, and get my new room in order. Luckily, Charlie gave me the largest of the rooms, so I was able to squeeze in my clothes. It may have been the biggest room, but it was still small! I didn't think my clothes were going to fit, but Alice was able to squish them in. For someone so small, she's really strong!

After a long day, I flopped down on my bed in my cow pajamas (I love cows) and fell asleep to The Fray.

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**Thanks for reading! Please review so I can get better! Ideas are appreciated. :)**

**~OCD8**


	3. First Day

**So this is the next chapter. I hope you guys like it!**

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**BPOV**

I woke up to my alarm clock beeping spastically. I checked the time. It was 6am. School starts at 8. I only had two hours. I got in the shower, and washed up, using lots of soap and good smelling conditioner. Conditioner is essential to non-static, soft, good looking hair. I blow dryed it, and then brushed through my layers, leaving it down. I went back to my room where I got into my white skinny jeans, red dotted flats, and cute red shirt. I ran downstairs and inhaled a granola bar before going back upstairs to brush my teeth and throw on some eyeliner and lipgloss. When I was sure my appearance was perfect for my first day, which was in the middle of January, (...yay) I grabbed my tote bag with all my books in it, and got into my Porsche.

I got to the school, and looked around. Ew. This school was nothing like the one in Phoenix. It was all wet here...but wait! To get to the separate buildings you had to WALK to them! OUTSIDE! Luckily it wasn't raining today, and wasn't supposed to for once, but tomorrow I'd have to remember my cute black trenchcoat with white detailing. I parked the car and went into the main office.

"Hi, I'm Bella Swan, and I'm new here. Can I please have my schedule?"

"Sure, honey. Here's your schedule and a map of the school. Please take this paper and get your teachers to sign it." She said.

"Alright, thank you." I said.

I got back into my car and drove around the the parking lot. Of course, my car got alot of stares. The only car that was close to being as nice as mine was a silver Volvo. The rest were rustbuckets: accidents just WAITING to happen, that were produced during the time of the Civil War (ok, fine, maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration...). I walked to my locker, and put my stuff in. I turned around, and almost jumped out of my skin.

"Hi...I'm...uh...Eric...do you need some help finding your next class?" A nerdy, greasy boy asked. He was really gross looking, but I smiled at him anyways. He looked so nervous.

"I'm Bella. Nice to meet you. I actually do need help. Do you know where the Trig building is?" I asked. He opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted by a velvety voice.

"Actually Eric, I'll take it from here." A guy said, smirking, "Run along now, don't wanna be late for the chess club meeting." He said, and watched as Eric scurried away. I turned around and looked at him.

"I'm Edward. You must be Bella. Alice told me about you."

"Ah. So you're Edward." I said, and started walking away. Alice was right--he was a jerk. He easily caught up to me.

"You looking for Trig?"

"Yes. I am."

"Well let me show you the way." He said. I sighed, but decided that since he hasn't done anything to me yet, I mind as well be nice to him.

"Thanks. I'm pretty lost at the moment." I laughed.

"So, you wanna go out with me Saturday?" He asked. Well, screw the being nice to him crap. Of course he only wants me for one thing. He wants me to go out with him, sleep with him, and then be one more added girl to his list. To people like him, girls are trophies. The more you get, the better a player you are. It's one big game.

"No, I don't."

"Why not?" He said, pretending to be hurt. I sighed again and turned to him.

"Look. I know your type. The guy who thinks he's hot and dates a different girl every week. Been there, done that. I'm not going to be enough of an idiot to date someone like you. See ya." I said, and started walking towards the math building.

"Hey, you know you're going to go out with me sometime. I always get the girl."

"Not this time." I said, and went in leaving him outside looking positively irritated that I wasn't in any way affected by him. I smirked at him, and his expression grew even more annoyed. He wrote something down a piece of paper and held it up to the window.

_**It's on**_

I nodded and smirked again. He left then, and I went to introduce myself to the teacher. Trig was boring. Government was boring (at least I had Alice in that class!). English was boring. Luckily, though, Edward wasn't in any of those classes. The bell rang for lunch, and I ran off to the cafeteria. I bought a bottle of water, (I don't usually eat lunch) and saw Alice waving me over. I went to her table and saw three other people sitting there.

"Everybody, this is Bella! Bella this is Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper." She said, pointing everyone out.

Emmett was huge. He's someone you look at and think...STEROIDS! But, unlike those with steroids, he seemed healthy. I guess he's just naturally that strong. I noticed he looked sort of like a teddy bear. He smiled at me, and then gave me a huge hug. Jasper looked kind of quiet, but gave me a huge smile when he saw me. He had blonde hair. Rosalie was...gorgeous. You stand next to her and feel like a troll. She smiled at me, too, and started telling me about this new store that we should all go shopping at soon.

About halfway through lunch, a napkin dropped onto the table in front of me. The front of it said,

_Bella_

I opened it up.

_You have a nice figure. Just the way I like 'em._

_3 Edward_

I picked up a pen and wrote back.

_**Too bad I can't say the same about you. How many pieces of cake did you eat? 10? I've got one word for you...YIKES!**_

_**Bella :P**_

Alice looked at what I wrote and laughed. She showed everyone else and they laughed too.

"You've got some nerve, Bella. No one rejects Edward!" Rosalie laughed.

"Not till now!" I said, and threw the napkin back to him. I watched his expression as he opened it up. It started as one of disbelief, and then turned to irritation, before finally settling on a sly smile.

"You handled this better than I would've thought," Alice said, "You're so nice to everyone, I thought that you would say yes so you didn't hurt Edward's feelings."

"Hey, I'm only going to be nice to people who are nice back. Edward just wants me to be an addition to his girl list, so I see no need to be nice to him." I said.

**EPOV**

I was sitting with my group of guys. They were good buddies, popular, you know? I was better friends with Emmett and Jasper, but they sat with their girlfriends instead of me. They only go out with one girl at a time. I wish they would come sit over with us, they could be just as popular, but since they sit with Alice and Rosalie, I only see them on the weekends.

"So, you get Bella yet, Edward?" Mike asked.

"Not yet. She's playing hard to get. I'll have her eventually." I said.

"She's not like anyone I've met before...she's nice. You'd think that she would be snotty and rude, but she's not. She's a real person." He said again. I slapped him.

"Back off, Mike. I'll get her soon enough." I said, and then pounded fists with the guys. I picked up a napkin and grabbed a pen.

"In fact, I'm gonna write her a little note."

_Bella_

_You have a nice figure. Just the way I like 'em._

_3 Edward_

I showed everyone and they hooted and laughed. I couldn't wait to see what she would write back. I threw it to her, and she opened it up. She kept her face smooth as she picked up a pen and wrote something back. She showed it to everyone and they laughed. Probably because she gave up so early. She threw it back.

_**Too bad I can't say the same about you. How many pieces of cake did you eat? 10? I've got one word for you...YIKES!**_

_**Bella :P**_

I stared at it in disbelief, which quickly turned to irritation. My figure is amazing. Way better than anyone else at the school's! I saw her smirking at me, and quickly turned my expression into a sly smile. I'd get her eventually. I was about to write back, but then decided on something better. I got up, winked at the guys, and went over to her table. I pulled a chair out and sat down. She looked irritated.

"Sup Edward." Emmett said.

"Hey, Emmett. Hey, Jasper. You guys really should come sit with us." I said. Jasper shook his head.

"Sorry Edward, but I like it much better over here with Alice."

"Suit yourself," I said, and turned to Bella, "So Bells, how's your day going? Have you rethought my offer?"

"Your offer to what? Give me an STD and then leave me somewhere?" She asked.

"Of course not. I don't have STDs. I just think you and I would make a great pair. Hottest couple at the school."

"Is that all you think about Edward? Who would look good with you? Does personality mean nothing to you?"

"Edward, leave her alone," Alice begged, "I really like Bella, and I don't want to lose my only girlfriend besides Rosalie because you were a jerk."

"Don't worry about it Alice. I won't ditch you cause I hate your brother." Bella said.

"Hate's a strong word." I said and looked at the clock, "Well I better go to class. Don't want to get a detention. Bye Rose, Alice, Em, and Jazz. I'll see you later." I turned to Bella, "Have a good day, Bells." I said. I left the cafeteria and went to my next class: Biology.

I was sitting alone in my Biology seat. I would love to sit with one of the guys, or a hot girl, but Mr. Banner thinks I'm "trouble" so I'm stuck here alone. Everyone else has a partner for labs and such, but not me. It's not fair. I was thinking about how much I hate this class when Mike walked in with Bella. Of course, I was irritated at first. Mike was supposed to stay away from her. But my irritation quickly turned to joy. There's only one open seat left. Next to me. I think I'm starting to like this class. I was thinking about how much I liked this class when I had an idea. A brilliant idea. I would put my plan into action after school. Bella walked up to Mr. Banner.

"Hi, I'm Bella Swan. I'm new here, and I just moved from Phoenix."

"Ah, Miss Swan. You'll be sitting next to Edward Cullen." Mr. Banner said, and looked over at me. He turned back to Bella.

"I'm sorry. If I had any other open seats, I'd let you sit there." He apologized.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure I can make it through one period a day." She said.

**BPOV**

What exactly did I do to anger fate today? Not only is this the class with Edward in it, but the only open seat is next to Edward. I walked over, sighed, and sat down next to him. He scooted his chair closer. I moved mine away. Mr. Banner started lecturing, and I tried to listen. I would have been able to if Edward wasn't staring at me like a freak.

"Mr. Cullen! Please stop staring at Miss Swan. Let me tell you something, boy. If you're that desperate to get a girl, staring at her won't help you!" He yelled. I started laughing. Edward turned away, looking embarrassed as everyone started to laugh along with me.

Mr. Banner continued his lecture as if that interruption didn't happen and I was able to listen better, but not quite. Edward was looking over at my books. I didn't get what he was staring at, all I had out was my schedule and homework assignments. I checked to make sure my locker combination wasn't on the sheet. It wasn't, only my locker number was. He was probably copying my homework, but I didn't really care. A note landed on my desk. Of course.

_What class do you have next?_

_**Gym.**_

_Me too! You just might get a glimpse of my gorgeous abs!_

_**I really hope not.**_

_Aw come on! _

_**Edward. Leave me alone. **_

_But what fun would that be? You're my new lab partner._

_**Thanks for reminding me.**_

_You sure you don't want to go out?_

_**Positive. **_

_You will eventually._

_**When the fat lady sings, Edward...oh wait, I didn't mean to insult you! My mom always said to be nice to transgender obese people... **_

**(A/N: I was gonna say, oh wait, I didn't mean to insult your mother, but I like Esme too much, lol.)**

He took the note and read it. He looked insulted. I had to press my lips together to keep from laughing out loud. The bell rang, and I hopped up and went to the gym. I hated gym. I guess if there was one good thing about Forks, though, it was that we get to pick our own uniforms. None of those ugly gym shorts. You pick your own gym outfit you're comfortable in, and change into that every day. It was odd, but a nice plus. I went into the locker room to put on my bermuda sweats, converses, and stretch cotton shirt, and found Rosalie there.

"Hey, Rose!"

"Hey Bells! How was biology?" Rosalie asked.

"Ugh. Guess who I got put next to?"

"No! He put you next to Edward?! Bella I'm sorry!" She exclaimed. I laughed.

"That's what Alice said when I passed her in the hallway!"

"Do you have Alice in any classes?"

"I have her in government and lunch, but that's it." I said.

"Well, you've got me in gym and lunch, so that's two classes with your friends at least. How's your day been...besides Edward?"

"It's going good. Everyone's really nice here." I was going to go into more detail, but the teacher blew her whistle. I went out into the gym with Rosalie and saw all the girls on one side and the guys on the other. Edward waved. I ignored him.

"Alright class! For the rest of the year we are going to be working on ballroom dance. It's important that you learn this. Ballroom dance is an important part of a functional society, and since you've been doing all the other sports for the past 3 years, there's not much else I can teach you." She yelled. Of course, I was standing right next to her, so it was twice as loud. I was going to need a hearing aid by the end of this class.

"You will be partnered up with a student of the opposite gender. We have one more boy than girls so one lucky man will be paired with me. I have put you into random pairs, and there will be NO switching. For the first two months we are going to be learning the different dances and the basics. For the remainder of the year, you and your partner will have to choreograph a dance and will perform it for a final grade. Got it?" Everyone nodded. I crossed my fingers that I wouldn't be put with Edward. Rosalie got lucky and was put with Emmett. I was waiting anxiously for my name.

"Mike Newton! You will be paired up with me, you can wait over there in the front of the gym. Edward Cullen! You will be paired up with...Isabella Swan!" She yelled. Why? WHY?!

"DAM-ARN IT!" I said, remembering just a little too late that I was standing next to the teacher. I smiled at her, hoping she wouldn't realize it.

"Nice save Swan. If you're gonna swear, pick a better spot next time." She said. Rosalie shot me an apologetic smile. I rolled my eyes and turned my head towards Edward. She nodded understandingly.

"ALRIGHT! PAIR UP!" The coach yelled. Edward came over to me.

"Isn't it nice how this worked out?" He said.

"Uh, not really."

"Oh come on. You know you want me!"

"I want you almost as much as I want my head ripped off by a monkey."

"BELLA! I didn't realize you were so suicidal!" He said with faux surpise.

I rolled my eyes and waited for the coach to start talking. Ballroom dance. Perfect. Probably the sport that requires the most physical contact. And I get put with Edward. Not only is it just a unit, we have it for the rest of senior year, and we have to choreograph a dance for our final grade. Woopdeedoo. The coach had just finished demonstrating the "proper hold" which was much too close for my liking, but I stepped closer, put one hand on Edward's shoulder, and the other in his hand. I did have to admit that his shoulder was very nice...muscular...not that that makes up for his hideous character.

The rest of the class passed very slowly. Edward was constantly asking me out or hitting on me, and it was a very irritating class period. Finally the bell rang, and the day was over. **(A/N: I know she only has five classes in this story, but just pretend that five classes is a normal number, ok? Thanks.) **

I went into the front office to turn in my slip only to find Edward in there too, talking to the secretary.

"Um, miss, I was wondering if I could get a schedule change. It's quite major actually. I would like it in this order, please." He said. You could see the secretary getting flustered by his emerald green eyes staring beseechingly into hers. She was a little old for him though...he was, what, 18? She was about 70. Um, ew.

"I'm...uh...sure we can...er...change it. Why do you need it switched?"

"Its a...personal reason I'd prefer not to share."

"Well alright. Here's your new schedule." She handed him his new schedule. I couldn't figure out exactly why he switched it, until he walked up to me and whispered in my ear,

"Read it and weep."

He pushed the piece of paper, his new schedule, towards me, and I gasped. He switched his classes so he had them all with me! Trig, Government, English, Biology, then Gym. Ugh!

"I told you," he whispered again, "I always get the girl."

"Not this time." I whispered back, and then went up to give my slip to the secretary.

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**Hope you like it! Please review, constructive criticism means alot to me! **

**~OCD8**


	4. Enlightenment?

**Thank you so so so so much to the three of you who reviewed so far! It means a ton to me, especially since the reviews are good. **

**This is the next chapter of the story, which I finished today to thank you for your reviews. :)**

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**EPOV**

It had been a month since Bella moved here to Forks, and she still hasn't gone out with me! That's a record, and not a good one. I even got all my classes put with her! I thought it would flatter her, and she'd agree to go out with me, but it didn't work! How did this happen?

I walked into Trig, my first class with Bella, and was surprised to find that she wasn't here. Where was she? Was she out with someone else? No. Who would go out on a Wednesday morning? I went to Government, and she wasn't there either. Once again, she was a no-show in English. I went to lunch disappointed that I didn't have a chance to ask her out today. I talked to the guys a bit at lunch, but found myself distracted, for what reason, I don't know.

Biology came, and I expected Bella to be gone again. She was. I was bored out of my mind listening to Mr. Banner drone on about nothing of importance to me when I heard the door open, and saw Bella rush in. She was wearing a pair of sweats, converses, and a long-sleeved stretch cotton shirt. Not her usual outfit. I looked closer, and saw that she was shivering uncontrollably, like she hadn't been wearing a coat when she went outside. It was the middle of February, so why she wasn't wearing a coat, I didn't know.

"Miss Swan, where have you been? It says you've been absent all day." Mr. Banner said.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Banner. I got in my car this morning, and it wouldn't start and was making this weird clicking noise, so I called the mechanic, and had to wait for him to actually show up. By that time, I realized I didn't have a car to go to school in, and my dad was at the police station already, so I had to run to school." She said. She ran to school?

"I see. Are you alright?" He asked, noticing her shivering.

"Yes, I'm fine. Just cold. I forgot my coat this morning." She laughed and went to go sit down. We were working on a lab. Mike intercepted her halfway there.

"Hey Bells!"

"Hey Mikey!" She said cheerfully, giving him a hug. I didn't know why, but that sent shots of jealousy through my system. I knew they weren't dating, but still. She HUGGED him.

"You look so cold, do you want my hoodie?"

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely." He said, taking it off and giving it to her.

"Thank you so so much, Mike!" She said, putting it on and wrapping her arms around herself. She sat down next to me. I decided to take this time to ask her something that's been on my head since the day I met her.

"Why are you so nice to everyone, but me?" I asked, trying to sound hurt. She reluctantly turned to me.

"Well, everyone else talks to me because they want to talk to me, not get me in bed. You just want me as an addition to your girl list, so I don't see why I should be nice to you, if it's going to end in me being used." She said. Something struck in me when she said that, because I realized it was true. Suddenly, that bothered me alot. It had never meant much before, but now...it did. I turned to her again.

"You RAN here? Isn't your house, like, five miles away from here?"

"Yeah, it is. I had to run if I wanted to make it in time for anything."

"How did you get so much stamina? You must have done a sport that required running." I said. She suddenly looked very guarded.

"Uh, yeah...I, uh...did...er..."

"Track?" I asked.

"Yes! Yes. I did track." She said.

"What event were you?"

"Um...long...distance?" It sounded more like a question than an answer. I wondered why she was being so...careful about it, but I didn't have a chance to answer because the bell rang and she ran off to gym.

I was anxious to get to gym, knowing the faster I got there, the faster I was going to dance with Bella. When I got there, though, I realized that I would have to wait.

"Alright! Guys, sit on the floor in the front of the gym. Girls, we're going to work on some gymnastics moves. They help alot when dealing with ballroom dance!" The coach yelled. All the girls were standing in a line across the gym. I went to sit across from where Bella was standing. The coach started yelling again.

"We are going to try and achieve a full split first! It helps with flexibility!"

All the girls were unsuccessfully trying to get into full split position...except for Bella. She was already in full split position. It took her all of 5 seconds to get to the position everyone else was struggling with. The coach obviously didn't notice it, though. She was trying to help everyone else. About fifteen minutes into the exercise, she called time. She still hadn't noticed that Bella had gotten it exactly right. I wanted to run up and point it out to her, but Bella had already stood up. She was next to Rosalie. Rosalie looking kind of sick today. Bella whispered something to her, and Rosalie nodded. The coach stopped talking about how to do flips and cartwheels and turned to Bella.

"Swan. Would you like to tell me why you're talking?"

"I was just asking Rose if she was ok. She looked like she was going to faint." Bella answered confidently.

"Yeah, sure. You were just 'asking if she was ok'. Like I believe that!" I didn't get why the coach was being so rude to Bella. I wanted to smack her around a little bit.

"Listen, I was just asking if she was ok. You don't need to yell at me." That really got the coach going.

"DON'T NEED TO YELL?! WHO DOESN'T NEED TO YELL?! HMMMM SWAN? YOU KNOW, EVER SINCE YOU CAME HERE, YOU JUST THINK YOU'RE BETTER THAN EVERYONE, SWEARING, TALKING DURING MY LESSON. NOW YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO DO THESE FLIPS! I BET YOU WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO ANYWAYS SINCE YOU WON'T TRY!!!" I wondered what exactly happened to the coach today. Who put tacks in her cereal? Bella was probably better at trying than everyone else. I looked at her. Her eyes suddenly were blazing.

"What...did you just say? That I think I'm BETTER than everyone and won't be able to do these moves because I WON'T TRY?!"

"That's exactly what I'm saying, Swan." I've never heard a teacher talk like that to someone.

"Well you're wrong on both counts. I'm not even CLOSE to being better than everyone else. They're better than me, most of them. And I can do every one of those moves you were talking about."

"Well Swan, lets see if you really can. Am I calling your bluff yet?" The coach said in a mocking tone.

"Nope. Watch me."

And with that, Bella walked away from the line of shocked people, and went to the front of the gym where I was standing. She stretched once, and then raised her arms above her head. She started running, and then did three front flips before turning around and doing three back flips. Once she moved into the middle of the gym, she did a cartwheel, a one-handed cartwheel, and then a no handed cartwheel. She briefly smiled, before turning around and walking back to the coach.

"Now, what were you saying?"

"Miss Swan...I owe you an apology...um...class get with your partners now...I need to sit down..."

I went over to Bella and took her hands.

"You sure showed her. How did you learn to do that? You're so good. You're good at this ballroom stuff too. Did you take dance?" The guarded expression returned.

"Uh...yeah...I took dance...and gymnastics...when I was, uh, younger." She said and then changed the subject. I didn't get it.

Why was she so reluctant to talk about the sports she obviously could easily do? It must have taken YEARS of training to be able to complete that. If I were her, I'd be bragging about it...ALOT. See, that was the difference between me and her. She would never rub things in other people's faces, while I'd be all over the place bragging up a storm. This one girl has caused much drama for me. This is the first time I've actually started regretting what I'm like to others. Meeting her was like getting a certain form of...enlightenment.

**BPOV**

Wow. I've never gotten in a fight with a teacher like that before. I've never heard a teacher talk like that! And then, of course, it got me so mad that I had to go and do a bunch of flips. It's gotten the coach, Edward, Alice, and Rosalie curious already. I can't keep doing this, otherwise I'll have to tell them The Story and I really don't want to do that.

Only the people in my family, well, aside from Billy Black, but he's just like family, know The Story. I don't like to talk about it, because it ends up getting me too emotional, and I don't need people feeling sorry for me. Of course, I try to lie about it whenever it comes up, but when things like how well I can do sports come up, I get upset thinking about why I have to lie, and then I lie badly.

It's funny, because pretty much anyone could easily find out The Story, because it was all over the TV's. Luckily, though, not many people watch that particular show, so it doesn't end up getting too public. It's been some years since The Accident which made The Story, so anyone who's seen that show has forgotten it by now.

It was horrible in the beginning. Right after The Accident, lots of people emailed me, saying they were sorry. I didn't know them, and not many people around me had seen the show in which they showed The Accident, so at least I didn't have to actually face these people. Their emails and words of sorry were supposed to make me feel better, but they just made me feel worse. They just kept re-showing me what I had lost, and what I wish I had back.

I've spent every day of my life, and still do spend every day of my life, wishing that I could go back. Redo it all. That maybe I could get back the chances I had, and get to have the dream that I could've easily achieved. This ballroom dance class certainly isn't helping me forget about it, since it's just bringing back memories of what I had lost.

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**Sorry for the confusing end there, and yes, you will find out what The Story is soon enough. I promise. Please review!**

**~OCD8**


	5. The Park

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I am so so so so so sorry it took me so long to upload this. I had some major writers block, but then I got an idea, and I was like O.M.G. YESSS!!!

Hope you like it, cuz if you don't, I'll be sad.

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BPOV

Alice and Rosalie are amazing. I'm so glad I met them. I really couldn't ask for two better friends. It's like having the two sisters I never had, but wished I did! We were going to the park today, since it's finally Saturday. Jasper and Emmett were coming with us, and since they were, so was Edward. Yay, I thought sarcastically. He continues to hit on me, though it's not quite as often now. I still dislike him, but he seems to have changed a bit. Changed to be a bit...nicer. Edward Cullen...nicer?! The way I look at it, he couldn't have gotten any worse than before, so that's good for him.

I threw on some sweats, converses, and a sweatshirt. It was actually sunny today, a rarity for Forks, so a sweatshirt would work just as well as a coat. It was the middle of March...and oh my gosh was school going by fast. I couldn't believe that two months ago I had just moved here. It seemed like forever.

I knew that I was irritated at having to move here in the middle of senior year, but honestly, I think it ended up being a blessing. I met Alice and Rosalie, the two greatest friends on the planet, and I got to spend some time with Charlie, which was nice, because he's not getting any younger, and he's a policeman, so you never know what could happen. I wouldn't want him to leave this earth without knowing that I loved him.

There were six of us, and five seats in my Porsche, but some people would just have to squeeze. I got into my car and started blasting the radio. That's something I love about my Porsche. The radio goes louder than a normal car's does. I pulled up in front of the Cullen's house, and saw Edward, Emmett, Alice, Jasper, and Rosalie run out. Jasper and Rosalie had come over early so I could just pick them all up at one place. Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, and Alice went into the backseat and squished together, and Edward got into the front. I drove off to the park.

Now, I know most teenagers wouldn't just go to the park on a weekend, but in our defense, it's too nice to stay indoors at a club or something, so we actually aren't total losers who like to play on the playground, we just want to be outside.

I pulled into the parking lot at the park. It was magnificent. I hadn't been here for years. It's got a playground, a path, benches, a fountain, a basketball court, a tennis court, and above all, it's HUGE!

We all got out and sat on the ground in a circle.

"So what's new with you Bella?" Alice asked.

"Well...I got these amazing strawberries. They're BLUE. B-L-U-E! I almost passed out when I went to the store and found them. I bought 67." Everyone laughed, "So, what's new with you Edward?" I asked.

"I got an A on my science project. It's a nice improvement from my past C's and D's." He sounded excited. Everyone congratulated him. "So, what's new with you Emmett?"

"I beat Carlisle in a wrestling match again." I had been told that Carlisle and Emmett had this weird tradition of wrestling. "So Jasper, what 's new with you?"

"I played the most AMAZING prank on my Spanish teacher. During lunch, I snuck away to her classroom, and sprayed silly string EVERYWHERE. And I mean everywhere. Nothing, absolutely NOTHING was free from my silly-stringing. What's new with you Rosalie?"

"I found this AH-MAZING top at the mall yesterday. It's black and white striped, but it doesn't look like a prison top. It's really, really cute! What's new with you Alice?"

"Well, I found out that I can run 5 miles!!!" She said excitedly.

"Alice, that's great! You and I can go running together sometime, that'd be so fun!" I said. I was about to keep talking, but I heard someone behind me.

"Bella?" I turned around to see who it was, and almost died.

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EPOV

"Bella?" I heard someone say. I turned around to see who it was and saw a blonde guy about 20 walking towards us. I looked at Bella, and she looked like she was about to pass out. I think she sorta stopped breathing, actually.

"DEREK!!!!" She screamed, and then got up and ran to him. She jumped up and into his arms, and he spun her around and then they both started jumping up and down and screaming. I didn't know why, but I was insanely jealous by the one little exchange.

"Derekderekderekderek!"

"Bellabellabellabella!"

"OH. MY. GOSH. I've missed you so much!" She said breathlessly.

"I've missed you too, squirt." He said. Squirt? So, what, he's got a nickname for her? WHO IS HE ANYWAYS?!?! Bella walked up to us with this Derek character.

"Guys, this is Derek. Derek, this is Alice, Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper, and Edward." She said, pointing us out.

"I hope you've been good friends to Bella. And I hope she hasn't tortured you too much with her insane obsession with chocolate and blue foods!" He laughed.

"Actually, I just bought 67 BLUE strawberries!!!!!" She giggled, and he laughed harder. IS HE DATING HER?! I wanted to rip that boy limb from limb, even if he's older than me. He was still hugging my Bella. Wait, what?! She's not my Bella. I don't get it. Suddenly I've got these feelings for her that I've never had about anybody else. It's new to me, to feel this way.

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BPOV

OMYGOSH!!!!! DEREK DEREK DEREK DEREK DEREK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can not even believe this!!!! I've missed him so much! He's my brother, and I thought it would be forever until I saw him again! But he's here. Now. With me! I think I might pass out. I hugged Derek again and introduced him to everyone. Alice, Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper looked really happy to meet him, but Edward looked like he was about to murder someone. I didn't get it, and I didn't really even care at the moment. Derek was HERE!

"Alright guys, how about we get some ice cream at the food stand?" I asked.

"ICE CREAM! YES! LETS GO!" Emmett screamed. I laughed, and so did everyone else. We got up and went to the stand. Edward trailed behind a bit though.

Soon after we were sitting back on the ground, Derek included with our ice creams. Alice got chocolate peanut butter, Jasper got vanilla, Emmett got superman, Edward got Rocky Road, Rosalie got strawberry, Derek got Moose Tracks (I teased him about that one), and I got a mixture of chocolate and blue moon (Derek teased me about my choice of ice cream). We were now sitting and playing dare or dare.

"Bella, dare or dare?" Rose asked.

"Dare." I said. Not like I had a choice.

"Hmmm...You see that guy over there? The one with his pants falling down? Yeah, that one. Go over and pull his pants up for him, and then start to lecture him about wearing appropriate clothes." She said, snickering. Oh gosh.

I walked over to the boy. Luckily he was alone, and smaller than me, so he can't beat me up. I went over, snuck up behind him and pulled up his pants. He turned around and gave me the weirdest look of anyone I've ever known. Then I started to lecture him.

"Look buddy, I know you're the sexiest guy here, but you need to wear appropriate clothes. Sometimes, when people have low self-esteem they try to wear less clothes, to make others like them, but really, they have no self-respect. You need to care for your body and wear the right clothes so that others know that you are going to respect yourself and those around you. That brings me to another topic...when you're alone with a girl it may be tempting to..." I was going to keep lecturing him, but he quickly walked away.

I returned to everyone, and they were shaking with laughter, except for Edward. He looked...hurt sort of. I still didn't get it, and didn't plan on getting it, so oh well.

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EPOV

We were playing dare or dare. Bella had to give this guy a lecture, and the lecture was hilarious. But...she started by telling him he was sexy...does she have a crush on him? I doubted it, but couldn't be sure. Suddenly, I was really upset. I still didn't get why I felt this way or what it meant, all I knew was that I felt it. Oh well, I decided to dwell on this later and just play dare or dare. It was Bella's turn to dare or dare someone.

"Jasper, dare or dare?"

"Dare."

"I dare you to go over to that really fat guy over there, and pretend to be gay and hit on him." She said. That was a good dare.

Jasper walked over to the fat man and sat next to him on the bench. He looked over at him, and then scooted closer. He reached out and took the guys hand. We were all exploding with laughter now. He turned to the man.

"Your figure is simply TO DIE FOR. What do you say about going to get some dinner?" Jasper leaned in like he was going to kiss the man. We didn't expect that.

What we REALLY didn't expect, was that the man would lean over and kiss him back! Jasper's eyes got really wide and he started to gag. He jumped off the bench and ran away. Everyone was cracking up, except for Jasper of course. Alice leaned over.

"It's alright Jazzy. You're just a really good gay guy."

"Fine then, Alice. Dare or dare." Jasper said. Alice's eyes got wide.

"What do you think?"

"Ok. Go stand behind that tree. The next person that passes the tree, you have to chase around the park for five minutes."

Alice stood behind a tree. The next person who passed was an old man in an electric wheelchair. Alice jumped out and started chasing him. She was chasing him, and he was accelerating that chair as fast as it could go. After five minutes were up, we reined Alice back in. She turned to me.

"Edward. Dare or dare."

"Dare, Alice. You know, we really don't need to ask the question."

"I don't care Edward. You have to take all your clothes off, except your underwear, stand in the fountain, and dance to the song "Gimme More" by Britney Spears. **(A/N: I think that's the song)** I have it right here on my iPod, and I brought some portable speakers, so start stripping."

Oh wow. I have to dance to GIMME MORE in a FOUNTAIN while only wearing UNDERWEAR?! This was going to be so embarrassing. But then again, this is the only time I'll get to dance in a fountain almost naked to a girly song, so I mind as well make the best of it. I took off all my clothes, save my underwear, and got into the fountain.

"Hit it Alice!" I screamed in a girly voice. People started to stare.

I song started, and I began doing the girliest moves I could think of. I stuck my butt out, fluffed my hair, and started to shake my hips and turn in circles while stomping my foot repeatedly. I stuck my foot out in the air, and placed it on top of the horse statue in the middle. I slid my hand up my leg, then hoisted myself on top of the horse, and pretended to ride it while twirling my hair. There were about 25 people who were staring at me now, and another 10 gathered around the fountain watching. I batted my eyelashes and girl-waved to them. The song ended and I hopped off the horse and got out of the fountain.

I looked over at everyone. They had tears pouring down their cheeks and they were on the ground practically choking on their laughter. Bella was leaning on Derek, just about dying, and I wanted to pull her away from him, and pull her to me.

"Derek. Dare or dare."

"Oh gosh. This is tough decision. I think I'll have to pick dare." He said. He looked worried. Good. He should be.

"Alright. You have to ask someone how much their child costs, and then offer to pay full price for him or her."

Derek walked over, found a baby sitting next to it's mother and turned to the woman.

"Um, excuse me, Ma'am? Your baby is absolutely adorable! I just want to know how much it costs. I'll pay full price, OVER full price for it! It would look great in my collection." The woman looked horrified.

"YOU SICK, SICK MAN! I would NEVER sell my baby! I am sorry, but I won't be adding anything to your collection. You can be on your way!" She screamed, and then grabbed her baby and ran.

He walked back over laughing.

"Emmett, dare or dare?"

"Dare."

"I dare you to go and start having a temper tantrum. But, during the tantrum, you have to go and hang onto the bottom of someone's leg."

"Psh. I can do that man." Emmett said, always confident, and went over to some random lady.

He started screaming.

"I LOST MY BUNNY! YOU STOLE IT! WHERE'S MY BUNNY?! I WANT IT BAAAAACK!!!!" He screamed and then burst into tears. He's good. The lady looked nervous.

"...Um, I don't have your bunny...go ask your mommy..."

"YOU'RE MY MOMMY! ARE YOU TRYING TO GIVE ME AWAY?!" He screamed.

"No, no, no...um..." She reached into her purse and pulled out a stuffed bunny. She handed it to Emmett.

"Here you are dear. My grandchildren can have something else." Emmett stood up.

"No it's ok. I don't want it anymore." He gave it back and walked away from the shocked woman.

"Rose. Dare or dare?"

"Dare."

"I dare you to stand on that picnic table and do the song and dance to the Pepto-Bismol song." Rosalie looked horrified. If there was one thing she hated, it was public humiliation.

She got on the picnic table.

"NAUSEA, HEARTBURN, INDIGESTION, UPSET STOMACH, DIARHHEA!!!!" She screamed, while doing all the movements. Everyone stared. She looked around, then hopped down and ran over.

We were about to go around again, but a park official came over.

"We ask that you please leave the park, and don't come back until you are willing to play normal, non-ruckus causing games."

We all got up and squished into Bella's car again, except for Derek, her maybe-boyfriend. He got in his car. Bella dropped off Jasper and Rose first, and then Emmett, Alice, and me.

"Bye, Bells!" We called.

"Bye guys! See you Monday!"

She said, and drove off.

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**Hope you liked it. PLEASE review, and let me know what you think! Reviews make me very happy!!!**

**~OCD8**


	6. Boyfriend

**Alright, I was happy with all the story alerts, and favorites, and author alerts, and reviews, so I buckled down and wrote this chapter for you guys!**

I just want to thank all of you who reviewed, I LOVED reading your reviews, especially those for the last chapter. :D

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BPOV

I got home, and Derek was there waiting. Charlie wasn't home. I hugged him again. I've really, really missed him. More than anyone could ever know.

You know on that game show, where you have three lifelines? 50/50, Phone a Friend, and Ask the Audience? Derek's like all three of my lifelines combined. He'll turn on 50/50 and give me two possible options to use as a solution, decision, or whatever. It makes it easier to decide. When he's Phone a Friend, I can ask for his opinion, and he'll tell me what he would do. In Ask the Audience, he tells me what the most morally right of the decisions would be, and I can take it or leave it. Like the lifelines, he doesn't force me into my decision, or tell me the answer he simply makes it easier to choose.

He's been there for me my whole life, and I'm really blessed to have him. Honestly, I'm blessed to have my whole family. I couldn't ask for anything better than what I have right now. I wouldn't trade any of them for anything. After all, you don't trade family.

Derek turned to me. He looked uncomfortable.

"Bella, can we take a walk? I want to talk to you for a bit." He said. I wasn't too worried. After all, it was probably just because he was having a troubling decision, or because he'll have to leave soon.

"Sure Derek." I agreed, and then put my shoes on.

We walked outside, where it was still nice and started walking down the street.

"Ah, Bella. I'm really glad I got to see you." He said.

"I'm glad I got to see you too. I've missed you."

"So have I. But that's not the point right now. I need to talk to you about something. Something important."

"Alright. What is it?" I asked. He took a deep breath, and said the words I wished I would never have to hear.

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EPOV

(A/N: For the purpose of this story, we are going to pretend that once you turn 16, you can get your own apartment.)

I was at my apartment, all alone. Yes, I have an apartment. I live in an apartment building in the city outside of Forks. It's unusual for high schoolers to live on their own, but at the time I had to. I desperately waited for my 16th birthday so that I could get away from my family. I couldn't stand them, apart from Emmett. Emmett was a great brother and friend, but my parents and Alice...ugh.

I never regretted that decision, but I was starting to now a bit. I wasn't going to move back with my family, but maybe I could visit more often...

I got in my car, and started to drive out to Forks. I was going to go home, but I just couldn't right now. I needed more time to...prepare. Instead I went to the cafe. When I drove up, I saw someone on the bench outside.

I parked my car, and went up to the cafe, only to find that the person on the bench was Bella. She looked really upset, and she had tears running down her cheeks. I went up to her.

"Bella, what's wrong?" I asked.

"...Derek..." She managed to choke out. I don't know why, but this sudden anger flared up in me. She WAS dating him. She wouldn't be crying like this if he was just a friend.

"What, did he dump you?"

"What do you mean, Edward?"

"You won't go out with me, but you'll go out with Derek? He lives hundreds miles away from you! Is that why you were being so mean to me? Because you were taken?! He obviously doesn't care for you if he treated you like that. You were just wasting your time with him."

She suddenly looked murderous.

"YOU THINK I WAS DATING HIM?!"

"It's pretty obvious, Bella."

"DEREK. IS. MY. **BROTHER!**" She screeched at me. Her brother? Well...that changes things. Why didn't she tell me?

"Why didn't you tell me, Bella?"

"I DID TELL YOU, EDWARD!!! BUT YOU DIDN'T LISTEN!!!! BECAUSE ALL YOU THINK ABOUT IS YOURSELF!!!! MY LIFE MEANS NOTHING TO YOU, YOU WANT TO GO OUT WITH ME AND DUMP ME EDWARD!!! DOESN'T IT BOTHER YOU HOW MANY GIRLS YOU'VE HURT?!" She screamed, and then got up, and started walking away.

"Bella...what did he say to get you so upset?"

"Like you care." She muttered, got in her car and drove away.

When school started again on Monday, Bella didn't say a single word to me. She didn't even look at me. If she did, she glared at me. I sat next to her in every class, and she remained rigid the whole time. When gym came, she silently danced with me, touching as little of me as possible.

It remained like that for the rest of the week. But that week was one of the best of my life. Not because Bella wouldn't speak to me, but because I finally saw the light. I knew what I had to do. I had to stop being a player. I need to get my act together. Make peace with my family. I don't think I can move back in with them. It's senior year, and senior year is almost over, so it would make no sense. But I need to get away from "the guys". They're not my friends. Emmett, Jasper, Rosalie, and Alice are. I wish Bella would be, but she's angry at me.

Actually, I wished Bella would be much more than a friend. I want her as my girlfriend. Not as the score in my girl playing game, but as my real life, girlfriend. You know, going steady?

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BPOV

He thinks I was DATING Derek?! My BROTHER?! How stupid is he? As if I didn't just get the worst news of my young life. Worse than The Accident. Nothing can compare to THIS.

So I decided that I was done with him. I started ignoring him, and if I have to look at him, I glare. During gym, I touch as little of him as possible, while still doing the moves required.

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TWO WEEKS LATER

Tomorrow is the day. The day in which my life is going to go into turmoil. I don't think I'll be able to get over this one. I'll try...but I don't think that anyone can help me with this.

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**Thanks for reading! I hope you liked it.**

**By the way, I am looking for people who can beta some stories for me. I need a beta for this story, and betas for two other stories I have. It can all be beta-ed by one person, or by three different people, or by two people, it doesn't matter to me. I just need a beta! DESPERATELY!**

**If you're willing to beta for me, PLEASE PM ME!!! Like, NOW!**

**Love ya!**

**~OCD8**


	7. I'll Miss You

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Here is Chapter 7!!! I hope you guys like it. I want to thank you guys SOSOSOSOSOSOSOSOOOOO much for all your reviews, story alerts, favorites, author alerts, and favorites! They make me so happy whenever I go into my inbox and see, like, 30 emails!!!

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EPOV

It's Sunday morning. 6:30am. Emmett, Jasper, Rosalie, Alice, and I were going to the cafe. We go there every Sunday morning at 6:30am for breakfast. Yeah, it's early, but no one is there, and they always have the best, warmest, freshest food early.

We walked into the cafe and sat down at the table in the center. I heard Alice and Rosalie gasp simultaneously and looked to where they were looking. When Emmett, Jasper, and I saw, we gasped too.

There was Bella. But...it didn't look like Bella. She was sitting with her head over a cup of coffee. Her eyes were bloodshot and had dark, dark circles under them. Her cheeks had tear streaks running down them, although she had stopped crying. She was wearing pajamas. Bella would NEVER wear pajamas in public. But she was. She looked like she needed comfort, yet there was something about the way she was blankly staring towards the table that told us not to approach her now.

I heard the bell ding and saw someone come in.

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BPOV

I was vaguely aware of my friends (minus Edward. I hate him.) coming into the cafe and gasping when they saw me. I didn't care. They didn't come over, and I was glad. Right now, I want no company. I just need to be alone until...it happens.

I looked towards the sound of the bell dinging, and my breath caught in my throat.

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EPOV

At the sound of the bell, Bella's head shot up and tears started running down her cheeks.

I looked at the person who had just come in, and saw Bella's brother, Derek walk in. He was wearing an army suit. With the words, "Troop Iraq"** (A/N: Look, I know army suits don't say Troop Iraq on them, but let's pretend, alright?) **on it. Ah. This was why Bella was upset. We all knew that she was really, incredibly close to her brother, and now he's out to Iraq. He might not come back, and that's what was killing her.

Bella got up from her table, wobbling slightly, and then ran over to her brother. He engulfed her in a huge hug, and you could see both of them crying. She let out a sob, and then he did too. He probably didn't want to leave either. I didn't get why he was though...I could ask Bella, if she was talking to me!

They walked over to the booth she was sitting at, and hugged each other tightly. They sat like that for about a half hour, and then Derek looked at his watch.

"Bells. Bella I have to go." He said sadly.

"Ok. I'll walk you to the door."

They got up, and walked over to the door together. They started sobbing and hugging each other again, and then Derek pulled back softly. He looked at Bella with mixture of sadness, love, compassion, worry, and depression on his face.

"Derek...be safe. Please. For me. Do what you have to do to be safe. You have to come back. You're my brother." Her voice was trembling.

"Bells, I'll do everything I can. You know why I have to do this. This is what grandpa did, and died doing, and I know that all he wanted for me was to go to war like him. I'm not going to dishonor his wishes. Take care of yourself though." He said. She nodded.

"I will." She said. He leaned forward, and softly kissed her forehead.

"Goodbye, Bella."

"Goodbye, Derek."

"I love you."

"I love you too." She said, but it came out in a choked whisper. He walked out the door, got in his car, and drove away. Bella went outside, and collapsed on the lawn in front of the cafe.

"We should talk to her." Alice said.

"Let me, Alice. I want to make peace with her, and this is my chance." I said. Alice looked at me like I had three heads.

"She hates you, Edward." Rose told me, making sure to make me feel bad in the process. And I did. Intensely.

"Which is why I have to do it. Please." I begged. Alice thought for a moment.

"Alright. You've got five minutes. If you mess it up again, we're coming out."

I nodded, and rushed outside to where Bella was sitting.

"Bella? Bells? Are you alright?" I asked.

"Do I look alright to you, Edward?" She sobbed.

"No, you don't." I sat down next to her.

"Bella, I need to apologize. I'm sorry for being a jerk, and trying to play you, and I'm sorry for thinking Derek was your boyfriend, and I'm sorry for getting mad when I thought he left you. I didn't realize about any of this, and I wish I would've listened when you told me. I'm sorry, Bella." I said. She turned and looked at me with the most heartbreaking expression I have ever seen on someone's face.

"Apology accepted, Edward."

"Can we try to be friends?" I asked.

"Of course. As long as you don't try to play me." She said.

Surprisingly, I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her closer. Even more surprisingly, she didn't pull away. She hugged me closer, and sobbed into my shoulder. A few minutes passed, and then the rest of the group came over, and hugged Bella too.

****

BPOV

Edward Cullen actually APOLOGIZED. Wow, this is a first. So I guess we're friends now. I'll still have to be on my guard.

I thought that nothing would get me over Derek's departure to Iraq. But sitting here, wrapped in the arms of Edward, Alice, Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper is helping. I know what will help me more. I need to go to the scene of where The Accident happened.

It has always helped me feel better before, and now should be no different. I looked up at my friends.

"Guys, I have to go. I'll see you tomorrow." I said, and then got up, gave everyone a hug, and then got in my car. I waved to them, then stopped at home to get what I'd need.

I pulled into the parking lot. I was here. The scene of The Accident, that produced The Story. I walked in.

"Hi, Uncle Billy." I said. Billy Black was like my uncle. He may not be related, but he's family. He runs the scene of The Accident.

I walked farther in, far enough that I was there. Right where it happened. I started spinning and jumping and doing everything I used to do when I came here. Suddenly, I felt alot better. Whole. Like I used to, when this was a part of my life. It had always been a big part of my life.

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**Well there you have it. Sorry for the cliffhanger. I love cliffys though.**

**As for the beta-reader, I am still looking for a beta for this story and two others. There's nothing you have to do to be my beta, really, except you have to have written at least part of a story, or send me something you've written so I can at least see that you can spell, do grammar, etc. Don't be shy! LET ME KNOW IF YOU ARE WILLING TO BE A BETA FOR ME!!!**

**~OCD8**


	8. The Story

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Ok, here we go with the next chapter. I'm almost halfway done with chapter 9, too, so that one won't be too long until I post it.

Enjoy!

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EPOV

"Alice, do we HAVE to go skating?" I asked, well whined really. Alice signed us up to go ice skating today. She rented half the rink. Only Alice would rent half an ice skating rink for us. Skating. I was going SKATING. Skating is NOT manly in any way! Oh well, it's best not to cross Alice.

We walked into the skating rink, after getting some ice skates, courtesy of Alice. She walked up to the man at the desk.

"Excuse me, sir. We have half this rink rented for 12pm-1:30pm." She said. The man looked at the clock and nodded.

"The person in there has 15 more minutes, and then you can get on. You can go ahead and get in the rink though, to put on your skates." He said. We nodded and walked in. No one was really paying attention to anything other than their skates until I heard Alice gasp. I looked up, and then I gasped too. Everyone else looked up, and then they all gasped simultaneously.

We couldn't believe our eyes. There, on the ice, was Bella. Skating. And not just skating, but skating GOOD. She was about as good as a professional. She could do all the jumps, the spins, everything. I've never seen anything like it before. She didn't realize we were there, she just kept skating. The song she was skating to ended and she stopped abruptly in the middle of the rink. She had on a huge smile. Bigger than anytime I had ever seen her smile before.

She saw us staring, though, and her smile disappeared. She skated up to us and sighed.

"I guess it's time to tell you The Story." She said, "Get on the ice and I'll tell you."

We all got on the ice hastily and started skating in a circle. Bella stayed with us, although she could probably skate circles around us.

"So...what's...The Story?" Alice asked.

"Well," she began, "when I was little, I used to skate. Skate a TON. I got better, and better, thanks to all my hard work. I took ballroom dance, gymnastics, track, anything that would help me. I wanted to be the best. Better than anyone else. And I was getting there. Not many people watch skating that isn't during the Olympics, so no one really knew about me except those in the world of skating. In the world of skating, I was good. I was REALLY good. I had the publicity, the coach, the fans, the skates, the routines, everything. I was on the radar. I was GOING to be the best."

"What happened?" Jasper asked gently. She sighed.

"The season was over. It was going to be another two months until a competition came up. So I did this partner skating thing to help me stay conditioned. I should have known it was going to be bad news when my partner didn't show up for practice often. But I still did the competition. In our routine, we had this one move where he would toss me in the air and catch me. When we did that move, he messed up, fell, and then I fell on him. His skate went into my calf, splitting the muscle to the bone. It was more painful than anything I've ever felt in my life. You don't even want to know how long it took me to be able to walk again, let alone skate. By the time I was able to get back into skating, I just...couldn't. I was too afraid. I can skate on my own when no one is there...but I won't even be able to do a competition again. Because I'm too afraid that I'll have a repeat of the accident. What bugs me the most though, is that I had it. I had it all. My dream was handed to me on a silver platter, but I let it get taken away from me. There's not a single day that goes by when I don't wish I could just go back in time and redo that all." She said sadly.

A bunch of little kids walked into the rink at that moment and she smiled suddenly. She grabbed some cones and set them up in the middle of the rink separating the two sides.

"I've got a lesson to teach, I'll talk to you after." She said, and then proceeded to go and teach these little kids to skate.

It was great watching her. She was smiling, and skating, and she looked really happy. As I watched her, I realized something. I was falling in love with Isabella Swan.

****

BPOV

Oh. My. Gosh. Did I seriously just tell them The Story? Now things won't ever be the same. They'll just be giving me sympathy. I don't want sympathy, I want friends. Ugh ugh ugh. How on earth will I face them again?! Now they know that I'm afraid of skating competitions. I don't know what it is, but being there, in front of all those people, at the place where I had The Accident just freezes me up. I've had some competition offers, but I always decline. I feel like such a coward sometimes...UGH!

Hopefully things will be able to go back to normal.

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**So, there you have it. The Story. Sorry if it wasn't as grand as you expected it, but trust me, it's going to be a big factor on the future chapters. **

**:)**

**~OCD8**


	9. Just Friends

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Hey guys, sorry it took so long!!! Major writers block!!! I'm really happy with the amount of reviews, alerts, and favorites this story has gotten. THANKS YOU GUYS!!!!!!

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BPOV

Edward and I are...friends. It sounds weird to say it, considering how much I've hated him. I'm glad we're friends though. It makes things so much easier. Plus, I like him. As a friend, I mean!

I was driving my shiny yellow Porsche up to the Cullen's house to get Alice. We were supposed to go running in the park together. Since I've come here, the Cullens have been like a second family to me. I feel really bad for Carlisle and Esme though. They told me the story of how Edward moved out, and you could just see the pain in their eyes when they spoke of it. I parked the car, got out, and knocked on the door. Carlisle and Esme opened it and smiled at me warmly. Something was different about them...they looked...happier?

"Hello Bella!" Esme said happily.

"Bella, it's so nice to see you. I hope you don't mind coming in, Alice is still getting ready." Carlisle said. I nodded understandingly.

"Mind as well take a nap while I'm waiting!" I said sarcasticly.

"I HEARD THAT!" Alice yelled from the top floor. I laughed, and then was wrapped in a huge bear hug from Emmett. He was just walking out the door to go and find Rosalie. I heard my name being called again, and my jaw almost dropped. Edward was there. In the house. Where his family lived!

"Hey Edward." I said. He walked over and gave me a hug.

"What are you and my sister doing today?" He asked.

"Well, we're going running in the park!" I said excitedly. He chuckled.

"Who goes running...for FUN?" He asked.

"Who plays basketball for fun?"

"Touche. Why are you taking your car if you're going running?" **(A/N: In case you don't know, touche (pronounced too-shay) means "good point" in French) **

"Because we want to run IN the park. If we don't take the car TO the park we'll be too tired to run in the park and we'll pass out because of exhaustion." I said.

Alice came bounding down the stairs then in her designer running outfit. I shook my head. Only Alice has designer RUNNING outfits. I gave Edward another hug, and we hopped in my car and drove to the park.

****

EPOV

I am absolutely, positively, in love with Bella Swan. Sadly, she doesn't feel the same way for me...so we're friends. Just friends.

I was in my apartment, totally bored, so I decided to *gulp* go home. It was approximately 6:30am, but I figured that Carlisle and Esme would be up. I drove home, and went up to the door, not sure if I should knock or just walk in. I didn't have to decide, because Esme flung the door open with such force that it would have knocked me out if I were standing there.

"EDWARD!" She screamed. Her scream alerted Carlisle, Emmett, and Alice, who all ran to the door shrieking my name. Even Carlisle. And he's the calm one. I hugged them all and came in.

"What brings you here, Edward?" Carlisle asked. I thought for a moment.

"I guess I just missed my family and needed to hang out with you for a bit." I said. Esme smiled hugely. I was about to open my mouth to say something, when Alice shrieked.

"I ONLY HAVE A HALF HOUR UNTIL BELLA GETS HERE! I NEED TO GET READY! I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH TIME!" Bella was coming here?! I excused myself to the bathroom and made sure my appearance was perfect. Wow. I'm turning into such a girl. I was watching TV when I heard the door open and close, and heard Carlisle and Esme's voice intermixed with Bella's.

"Bella?" I said.

"Hey Edward." She said. I walked over and gave her a huge, which she returned. I didn't want to let go, but I had to.

"What are you and my sister doing today?" I asked.

"Well, we're going running in the park!" She said with much excitement. I chuckled.

"Who goes running...for FUN?" I asked.

"Who plays basketball for fun?" She asked. Dang, she got me there.

"Touche. Why are you taking your car if you're going running?" I asked.

"Because we want to run IN the park. If we don't take the car TO the park we'll be too tired to run in the park and we'll pass out because of exhaustion." She said.

I was suddenly thinking about what would happen if she DID pass out from exhaustion. Before I knew it, I was daydreaming of me giving her mouth to mouth. I quickly banished those thoughts when Alice came bounding down the stairs. Bella leaned forward to give me another hug (SHE initiated it!) and then drove off with Alice. Esme went into the kitchen, and I was alone with Carlisle. He gave me a look, and beckoned for me to come up with him to his office.

"So...you like Bella?" He asked me. Was it that obvious?

"Well...a bit more than like. I think I'm in love with her." I said. I could tell Carlisle anything.

"Ah. Does she feel the same way?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I messed it up for myself. I was such a jerk to her when she first came, and I tried to play her, and now all we can be is friends." I said sadly.

"You never know, Edward. If you prove to her you're worth it, she might forgive you. And give you a chance." He added, putting a hand on my shoulder.

****

BPOV

I parked my car, and now Alice and I were stretching before going onto the running path that curved all the way around the park, for a full 10 miles. We were only going to do five.

Alice and I started running, and since it was early, not too hot, we weren't huffing and puffing--yet. We had completed about the first one and a half miles when Alice unexpectedly said,

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For giving me back my brother."

"I'm not following you, Alice." I admitted.

"Didn't you see him? There, at my house! He hasn't been to our house since last year. He's been talking to me, being nicer, hanging out with Emmett, phoning Esme and Carlisle. I guess you don't know him well enough, but you can't see the changes we see. You can't see how much it's hurt us to have Edward pulling away. And now he's there, at home. We're all really ecstatic." She said gratefully. I stopped running and hugged her.

"I'm glad to be of service, Alice." She nodded and turned to me again.

"After we're done running, we need to shop for graduation outfits!" She exclaimed, and I groaned. Graduation was tomorrow. I couldn't believe that the year was already over.

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**Hope you liked it!!! REVIEWREVIEWREVIEW!!!!!**


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